Lot 240
Love – Forever
Yayoi KUSAMA (Japanese, 1929)
2005
Mixed media, edition no. 1/15 (hand painted; unique) 44(H) x 38(diameter) cm
44(H) x 38(diameter) cm
Estimate
TWD 9,000,000-16,000,000
HKD 2,233,000-3,970,000
USD 284,600-506,000
CNY 2,018,000-3,587,000
Sold Price
TWD 10,200,000
HKD 2,595,420
USD 333,442
CNY 2,344,828
Signature
+ OVERVIEW
“With just one polka dot, nothing can be achieved. In the universe, there is the sun, the moon, the earth, and hundreds of millions of stars,” the artist has mused. “Pursuing the philosophy of the universe through art under such circumstances has led me to what I call stereotypical repetition.”- Yayoi Kusama
She hoped that people of different backgrounds would begin attempting to explore the realm of all that is possible and prioritise creative thought in the plastic arts to make room for new creative and playful potential in arts and cultural spaces. Her work became a sensation as it bounced between art and design and took form as the most alluring of contemporary plastic arts: a multitude of dots that cover the surfaces of all kinds of things, from walls and floors, to canvases, objects, and bodies, even the artist herself. Repeated lines of dots extend into infinity, creating confusion about what a space actually is, and leading the viewer to unconsciously fall into a dizzied state, unsure of how to distinguish the reality from the illusion. This work, “Love-Forever”, contains Yayoi Kusama’s classic imagery and dots. A densely coloured, monochromatic polka dot pattern fills the work and is repeated to the point of producing a certain dizzy, hypnotic feeling. Its vivid colour goes beyond our visual experience and seems to spread through the cosmos. As her hallucinations are combined with real experiences, environments, and material things, her ego enters an infinite plane, forming a world that floats totally on its own. It is a perfect presentation of what makes the work of Yayoi Kusama truly original, and the everproliferating, deforming dots can be thanked for having spurred a breakthrough in the plastic arts and making this work an undeniable ‘Yayoi Kusama’.
Modern & Contemporary Art
Ravenel Autumn Auction 2022 Taipei
Sunday, December 4, 2022, 2:00pm